Burnt Cookies and Hope Part 2

If you missed part 1, please get caught up here.

C.S. Lewis wrote, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

Made for another world indeed. We were handcrafted by God himself not for this life but for the coming Life in heaven. And this is the only Life we can put our hope in.  We will lose heart and give up if we don’t. Negativity and sorrow will overwhelmingly crush our souls if we do not hope in the Life to come.  The biggest question is, what will this Life in heaven be like?

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9) Paul is simply saying to us that the end of our personal journeys will be incredible, and beyond our wildest dreams come true. As Eldredge dares us, “we cannot out dream God.”

Heaven is Life, and Life in abundance. It is not just a quantity of Life, but a certain glorious quality of Life. Our diseases will be healed, our sin erased, death will be no more. All of our tears will be wiped away, and there will be no pain. We will experience uninterrupted communion with Jesus. Our wildest dreams will come true. All of the longings and desires of our hearts will be fulfilled. We will be reunited with our family and closest friends. 

John Eldredge notes the comedy of the old saying, “He’s just not himself today.” He points out that the phrase is ironic because it’s true. No one is really quite themselves today. There is more to us than we have seen. Our true selves, our true creation will at times unexpectedly be revealed. 

“Life for the most parts keeps our glory hidden, cloaked by sin, sorrow, or merely weariness. When I see an older woman doubled over with arthritis, the hard years etched into her face, I want to cry, Eve what happened? How truly wonderful it will be to see her in her youth again, the full flower of her beauty restored.” (The Journey of Desire) 

We will finally, be the marvelous men and women God designed us to be. The full flower of our beauty and the full weight of our glory will be restored, and never again taken from us. Our youthful strength will not slip from us. Our greatest moments of joy and life on this side of eternity are only tiny glimpses of what we will experience when we finally go Home. Our experiences of love and intimacy in this life are only small sips of the Living Water from which we shall drink deeply in heaven.  Let hope begin to arise within you for this coming Life.

So now I find myself trying to out dream God in regards to heaven. I know that Jesus himself is in heaven now, preparing my place, my paradise in heaven. (John 14:2) He is doing the same or you, even as you read this post. Jesus knows us intimately, knows our every quirk and rhythm of our heart, knows us even better than we know ourselves. He knows our every dream and desire and thus he knows what we want concerning our place in heaven. Imagine the things he has up his sleeve! When I think about my place in heaven, I can see Jesus. He is rugged and strong, and more importantly, he is ecstatic to welcome me home. He has prepared a homecoming banquet and all of my family and friends are there. Grandpa Bob has teeth now, and he is young and mighty once again. My grandpa Schottel is not depressed but rather, very free and young as well. My parents are truly alive and joyous. Sadie (whenever it is she arrives Home) is whooping her contagious and life giving laugh hysterically. She too is young and beautiful completely restored in body spirit and soul. My best friends and I share a victory beer with Jesus (Imagine the stuff that guy can brew) as we recount the joyous times and triumphs we have shared. Jesus reveals his perfect work and plan throughout our first lives. He shows us just how very close he was to us, and we finally experience the full weight of his love. I have a house handcrafted by Jesus himself (the guy was a carpenter after all. What do you think he’s doing in heaven? Sitting in eternal glory with his nose held so high he can’t hear your prayers no less answer them? Doesn't sound much like the Jesus I read about when I open the gospels.) And the house is magnificent. It sits on a large piece of beautiful countryside. There are streams and ponds littering the property. I go fishing with Jesus. We bow hunt together. I play a little football with my best friends and family. Jesus joins the festivities as well. And obviously, Samantha is there. She is radiant and shining, smiling with her own full glory for the first time. She and I are excited because we finally get to truly live, happily ever after. Death and sin can no longer rob us of our love. Oh and I almost forgot. My knees are completely restored as is the rest of my body. No more patella tendinitis.  No more of me doing high knees/butt kicks and calling it running. I am, for the first time, truly running. In my place, I am running wild, young, and free.

As Lecrae so cleverly said:  My hope is not a verb, My hope is found in a noun. 

What is your place like? What are you putting your hope in?

Burnt Cookies and Hope Part 1

I’ll save you the pity party of personal details and jump right into it. The past week and a half or so has been rough. Lots of emotional turmoil. My heart was heavy and burdened. Though I didn't know it at the time, you could sum up the state of my heart in one word: Disappointed. I had become very negative, and lost heart.  

And as you know, when it rains, it surely pours.

So then we burnt the cookies. Samantha was visiting for the game and had been excited to make some homemade desserts. Of the desserts she planned on making, were your basic oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.  You know the rest of the story. 20 some minutes later we pulled out a batch of charred hockey pucks that were definitely not cookies. Samantha was flustered. I tried to console her and she dejectedly replied something to the effect of, “It’s fine. It’s always something and it gets old.” She promptly retreated to the deck with that comment and I promptly cried. This was about much more than the burnt cookies of the morning. This was about my un-grieved pain and frustration I have held inside the past 4 and a half years.  So I finally gave in to God and cried. And God was there. I dare say, God even orchestrated the week’s events to heal a broken part of me. A part of me that I had long been withholding from him.

And this Monday, God showed his face. God showed me exactly what it was he wanted to heal inside me so badly.

I woke up early and trained a client at 6 am. We were done by 7, and as I walked out of FKS I was overwhelmed with a sunrise that was breathtaking. Orange, yellows, reds, and purples like an artist just went to town on his canvas. Clouds scattered with the precision of a painter with undying passion for his work. My heart was immediately encouraged and uplifted in 10 seconds of beauty. It was a painting of hope, reminding me that one day, the Life I so desperately long for will indeed come.

I hopped into my car and turned on the local country station to find myself listening to Dierks Bentleys new single ‘I Hold On’. It is a song about a lot of different things, but it spoke to me this particular morning about hope. And I knew what God was after in my heart. He was after my hope.

“…set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” - 1 Peter 1:13

Aka set your hope fully on the coming Kingdom of Heaven.

Samantha sent me an email earlier last week in the midst of my disappointments. She wrote “I can’t wait until one day God heals your body and I get to see you running free in heaven.” At the time I was ecstatic. My heart was encouraged. But that’s where it ended. My perspective was not adjusted at all because my hope was still in this life, here and now.

The past weeks struggle and exhaustion stemmed from one simple but profound broken part of my heart. I do not hope in Heaven. Instead, I live as though this temporary and often times disappointing life is my only hope.  Allow me to lean on the wisdom of John Eldredge and share an excerpt from The Sacred Romance. 

“…We no longer live in a world under heaven. All the troubles of the human soul flow from here. All our addictions and depression and the rage that simmers beneath the surface of our Christian facade...the deadness that characterizes much of our lives has one common source: We think this life is as good as it gets. Take away our hope of arrival and our journey becomes a death march. Even the best human life is unspeakably sad. If we do escape some of the bigger tragedies (and few of us do), life rarely matches our expectations. When we do get a taste of what we really long for, it never lasts. Every vacation comes to an end. Friends move away. Our careers don’t quite pan out. Sadly, we feel guilty about our disappointment, as though we ought to be more grateful. Of course we’re disappointed, we were made for so much more. ‘God has set eternity in our hearts.’ (Ecclesiastes 3:11) Our longing for heaven whispers to us in our disappointments and screams through our agony.” 

I was literally designed for eternity, for the Kingdom of Heaven. And so were you. Of course we're disappointed. We were made for the renewal of all things. 

Groomsmen Part 2: Lets get Funky

Next up we have #20 on your roster, but #1 in your hearts. Tyler RaeQuan Funk.

His middle name really isn't RaeQuan. Its actually Jose. Any-who, the middle name isn't that all important.

The reasons I love Tyler are important. 

Tyler is one of my best friends. Beside Mark, he is the only friend I met before high school that I am still very close with. Our friendship began quoting Billy Madison while we rode the pine at one of our youth baseball games. The rest is history. We played football and basketball together throughout high school. He is one of those guys that you love to compete alongside. He is one of the fiercest competitors I know. Hand grenades, horseshoes, Chinese Checkers. It doesn't freakin matter. If hes playing, he wants to win. In the famous words of Gregg Nesbitt, "Men, this guy just loves to bleepin compete!" To put it simply, if I'm picking teams for anything, my first round pick is Tyler. In fact now that I think of it, before anyone else speaks up, dibs on Funk for football and b-ball when we all finally make it to heaven.

Once again, I don't even know where to begin with this guy. I guess I will start with this: dang was he fun to have as a teammate. He was fiery and played with an edge. Most opposing players hated him because he had an unnerving confidence about him. He was always up for a challenge. He was never intimidated by anyone. He didn't mind talking a little trash. And he loved--and I mean loved--celebrating. Letting his emotions get the best of him when something great happened. He would jump and jitter, laugh and yell all at once. And it was fun. I think I liked playing alongside him so much because we were so alike. We competed in the exact same manner. It was a blast having a teammate that played the same way you did.

When I would complete a long ball to him we would go bananas. Side bumps. Fist pumps. All of the above.
Now I know, some of you are gagging about this whole thing. Some of you are muttering under your breath about how this has nothing to with Jesus. Or maybe you're saying that my theology is off. I'll first politely to tell you to kiss my ass. Second, I'll politely ask you to keep reading.

First, you must know. In regards to basketball, Tyler is an underdog. He's a 6 foot 1 white point guard. He's quick but not overly fast. He can dunk, but he's not going to cross over and mash over someone for a salty poster. But there are two things he will do: He will defend, and he will play with tremendous effort. Actually he will play with obnoxious effort. The kind of effort that pisses the other guy off about 45 seconds into the game.

My senior year we played Grandview. They are an extremely talented school in KC. Grandview had a player by the name of Alec Burks. He was a legit Division 1 ball player. For more info on Mr.Burks, click here. Anyway, Burks had averaged around 28 points per game coming into our contest. Now we always put Tyler on their best player. Needless to say, he had Burks. Long story short, he held Burks to a mere 8 points. We love hearing stories like that. They put pictures and meaning to the Story we all love. That Story is the fairy tale we call the gospel. Now on paper the gospel makes little sense; it seems impossible. Sure Jesus existed. There are countless pieces of historical proof for that. Sure he was killed brutally; plenty of historical evidence for that as well. But rise from the dead 3 days later? No way that happened... When you die, you die.. that's it. That's just 'how things work.' But then again, Tyler Funk guarding Alec Burks doesn't look real good on paper... Before they pulled out 3 trick plays, Boise State beating Oklahoma in the 2007 fiesta bowl didn't sound too good either...That is interesting. Or what about the 1983 basketball season for NC State? I suppose winning 7 of your last 9 games after trailing in the final minute doesn't seem to make much sense on paper. NC State went on to win the '83 title game against a Houston team that was completely superior to them in every facet of the game. Every. Facet.

Except one. Heart. Heart defies logic and science. Why else does the 12 beat the 5 seed? Why else do almost all the stories and movies we love involve someone overcoming some 'impossible' task? It's because these stories and movies are echoes from The Story. They stir up our hearts because at their core they are true. They are the gospel. Just because science can't logically explain it, doesn't mean it never happened, or for that matter couldn't happen. Our world is full of examples that prove science can only go so far. Somethings, you just can't explain with facts or logic. 

I imagine Burks laughed to himself when he first saw this poor little Kearney kid about to defend him. But the weight and strength of Funk's heart changed the game. His heart defied the 'logic' of only the strong surviving. His heart erased the automatic superiority of Burks on paper. Christ also defied the logic and science behind death. His fierce, noble, and passionate heart erased the 'superiority' of death once and for all. This is one of the reasons why we feel so crushed and devastated when we lose someone we love to death. It's because death is NOT natural. Our hearts, at some level, refuse to believe and accept the loss of loved ones no matter our beliefs. (more on this in another post)

In terms of football, Tyler was a receiver. And man he loved making plays down field. I loved throwing to him. If there was ever a 50/50 ball, you'd be one smart man to bet that Funk was comin down with it. Like Mark, He allowed me to play with ridiculous confidence. If I underthrew the football, he would make a play for me. If I over threw it, he would launch his body through the air and snag it. Essentially, if I was ever wrong, he made me right. I find myself messing up frequently in life. When I am wrong though, Jesus is always there to make me right.

One final story. The best one. In a past post, I said that every good moment you have ever loved, has been sent personally to your heart from God Himself. I believe our favorite memories and golden moments are tiny glimpses or previews of what heaven will be like. Tyler was a part of my one of my own golden moments, one of my favorite moments in my life. It was my senior basketball season and we were playing Hickman Mills in the quarterfinals. Winner got a ticket to Mizzou for the final four. Hickman Mills had just blistered us by about 30 at home two weeks before our quarterfinal match-up.  We had no business being the game. But somehow, with less than a minute left we found ourselves leading by 1 point. Hickman Mills had the ball. They were going to take the last shot. Now, the only reason we were in the game (or any game for that matter) was our collective effort on defense. And now we had to make one last stand, one stop. Keep in mind, we take great pride in our defense at Kearney. I honestly don't even remember the play, but they got a solid look and missed, and we tipped the ball to the other side of the court as time expired. We sealed the deal and won the game 34-33. It was pandemonium. Absolute chaos. We were going nuts. 

That is what heaven will feel like. A victory that we have no business tasting, but we will anyway. A hard fought victory in which many times we screwed up, made plenty of mistakes. But in the end, we will win and that's all that matters. 

While the below pictures were being taken, I think we both said 'I love you man' and 'We did it.' about 17 times each. Tyler gave me a preview to the kind of utter joy and excitement I will get when I finally hug Jesus for the first time. His heart is a lot like Jesus', and he gave me a glimpse of what life to the fullest in heaven will be. That's why I love him.

Groomsmen Part 1: THE Mark Krause

Recently Samantha and I reviewed some wedding plans and scrolled through the list of our bridal party. 

I looked at the list of my groomsmen, mah doods. I loved them. Every single one of them. Words honestly couldn't capture the grateful love I was feeling for these guys..

An alarming thought immediately followed. "I love these guys more than I love Jesus"

Why did I love them so much? Why do you love your best friends so much? 

I stumbled upon a blog later in the week that explains my thought nicely. There was a little boy named Laurence who was a huge fan of the book series 'The Chronicles of Narnia' by well known author and thinker C.S. Lewis.  Laurence was completely captivated by the Christ figure in the story, Aslan. Laurence loved Aslan very much. One day he told his mother that he was afraid he loved Aslan more than he loved Jesus. His mother, being the concerned mother she was, wrote to the publisher promptly and explained the situation. C.S. Lewis swiftly wrote a letter back to the mother and Laurence in just 10 days. 

"Tell Laurence from me, with my love,’ Lewis wrote in a detailed letter, ‘ … [He] can’t really love Aslan more than Jesus, even if he feels that’s what he is doing. For the things he loves Aslan for doing or saying are simply the things Jesus really did and said. So that when Laurence thinks he is loving Aslan, he is really loving Jesus: and perhaps loving Him more than he ever did before.." (becomegoodsoil.com) 

What I love about my groomsmen are the pieces of Jesus in them. Same holds true for you and your best friends, or your family. 

Every good person you have ever loved, has been sent rather personally to your heart from God Himself. Jesus uses these people you love so dearly to introduce himself to you many, many times. He is constantly knocking on the door of your heart through these people. 

And I know I may be a little biased, but my groomsmen got hella pieces of Christ's life pumping through their veins. 

So without further adieu, I will introduce to you MAH DOOOOODS! I pray it opens your eyes to how much you actually love Jesus too. 

First up, and in no particular order we have the one and only Mark Eldon Krause II. Where do I even begin with this guy? Our high school football coach Greg Jones said it best at a banquet. He told us that Mark has that rare ability to 'light up' any room that he walks into. Coach was right. Mark has one of the most dynamic personalities I have ever encountered. First trait that mirrors the Savior of our universe. Jesus had an uncanny personality that was so raw and unpredictable that he is often written off as a lunatic. For those of you who know Mark, its safe to say hes been called a lunatic before. Actually, a majority of people probably write him off for any number of reasons. I'd say those are the same people who don't quite know him like I do. Mark can find the humor in almost any situation, but turn around and be completely serious about the things he loves. 

But the greatest similarity I see between Jesus and Marks respective personalities is strength. Mark can certainly have a good time. But he can also be overwhelmingly fierce and strong when needed. Physically, hes a freak. The guy punts at K State, but he can squat the house. The kid cant even find a pair of jeans that his bulging glutes can fit into. (No homo) Certainly he has a strong physical presence. But there is also something deeper than physical strength. Something fierce and absolutely wild about his heart. I got to see and experience this heart firsthand on Friday nights in the fall during high school. Mark and I were both on offense.  Now, if you play fullback in our offense, your probably one of the toughest bastards on our team. Lets just say Mark played fullback, and he played it well. He was constantly launching his body at full speed into one or more opposing players all so our RB's could snatch a couple yards. But why I was most fond and grateful for him was what he would do for me. I played QB and we used to run a lot of sprint out pass plays. This requires some type of personal protector for me as I lumbered out to the edge to chuck the rock. Mark was my personal protector. The countless times he would sacrifice his body for me was unreal. He was always protecting me, always looking out for me. If you wanted to hit me, odds are you would meet a certain #38 who played with a pissed off taste in his mouth. I honestly can't remember a time I was hit when it was his fault. But the few times I was knocked down, you could bet on who was the first one there picking my lanky bones off the turf. #38. One of my favorite sounds I have ever heard in my life was Mark Krause peeling back at the last second and violently eliminating an opposing player as I unloaded the rock for a TD. There are a few things in life that are sweeter, but only a few. 

Mark's body would hurt like hell on Saturday and Sunday so mine didn't have to. He hurt so I could feel good.  Jesus died so I could live. He hurt. He was forsaken by God so I would never have to be. There is nothing in life sweeter than that. 

Mark was always there to help me back to my feet after I was clobbered on Friday nights. Jesus helps me back to my feet when I fail and get suckerpunched by life. Because of Marks sacrifice, I played with supreme confidence. I was free to be the player I was meant to be on those Friday nights. Because of Christ's sacrifice, I live with supreme confidence. I am free to be the man I was meant to be. 

A couple lines from Eminem's When I'm Gone sum it all up:

Have you ever loved someone so much, you'd give an arm for?
Not the expression, no, literally give an arm for?
When they know they're your heart
And you know you are their armor
And you will destroy anyone who would try to harm em

Mark would give more than his arm for me. There is absolutely no question in my mind that he would give his life for me. I'd do the same for him. He was my armor on Friday nights. Jesus is my armor in life. Mark was a huge part of my heart on Friday nights. Jesus is my heart in life. Thanks to Mark Krause I got to see and feel the strength of the gospel even when I didn't realize it. That's why I love him.

Till Cinderella Man Collapses Part 1

I'll start this one off with a confession. I was going to write about the following:  if you look extremely closely at a few of Eminem's song lyrics, you could stretch some to mirror a few pieces of who Jesus was. I must confess, I was wrong. Very wrong indeed.

There is really no stretching needed. There are numerous pieces of Jesus' personality in the lyrics of Eminem that call out to you. Pieces of your Best Friends personality that are being spit through the mouth of Marshall Mathers. 

You love listening to Eminem's music because its gives you permission to be like the real Jesus. I love it for the same reason. Eminem's lyrics overflow with fiery emotion. They hum through my  super neat Toyota's speakers with the intensity and boldness that Jesus Christ lived with.  Listening to his raw emotion gives me more of a Holy experience than any church service I have been to. Eminem raps with raw passion. He rants, he raves, he yells, he calls people out. His style and creativity bring a notably strong presence to the radio.  He does not disclose his emotions, instead he wears them on his sleeve. One minute he raps about his immense personal grief and suffering, the next he is proclaiming an inner strength that cannot be denied. There's a reason you love his songs. They awaken a desire within you to walk through the tunnels of pain and struggle in your own life, and to come out on the other side better for it.
Sounds a lot like Jesus to me.  

My favorite Eminem song is Cinderella Man. I absolutely love it. There are so many parallels between this song and who Jesus is, it increases my heart race each time I listen. 

Simply start with the title of this freakin song. Cinderella Man. It immediately brings to mind an underdog. Marshall Mathers was an underdog. A poor white kid from Detroit who grew up in a trailer park. I mean, the odds are already stacked against this dude. Then this idiot's got the nerve, the balls, to pursue a career in HIP HOP?! Who does this guy think he is?? Can you imagine the wayward looks he received when he would tell people his dream? He was the butt of endless punchlines. Yet his lyrics reveal a certain freedom, an attitude that goes something like, 'I don't give a rip what people think about me.'  To most people, Mr. Mathers was just another dude. Many dismissed him as an arrogant psychopath who didn't have much going for him. But then this guy turns out being one of the best lyricists of all time? Incredible. A true Cinderella story.

Jesus too, was laughed at for where He came from. People roll their eyes and grin when they hear this poor carpenter from Nazareth is actually God Himself. I mean what kind of nuts does it take to tell a bunch of skeptic people you are the Son of God? They dismiss Jesus with the same declaration of arrogance and stupidity people did with Eminem.Yet Jesus is very free, living above what others have to say or think about him. This ordinary carpenter from small town middle-eastville is the Savior of the world. Unreal. A truer Cinderella story.

Who can catch lightning in a bottle? Set fire to water?
Comin' out the nozzle on the fire hose, flier than swatters?
Smash an hourglass, grab the sand, take his hands and cup 'em,
Spit a rhyme to freeze the clock, take the hands of time and cuff 'em.

We hear these opening lines and our hearts leap in our chests. They portray an image of someone who is powerful, and mighty. Someone who defies the rules of science. Its safe to say Eminem can't pull any of that stuff off, but my Friend Jesus does these sort of things for fun. He is completely in control of all things in creation. The dude walked on water, I think he can catch lightning. 

The next verse is not only unbelievably creative, but unbelievably true to how Jesus lived his life. Where do I even begin??  I am afraid I wont be able to capture the fullness of this verse, but I pray I somehow can. This is Fire. This is aggression. This is Christ. All of it.

There's a storm comin' that the weather man couldn't predict,

An unpredictable storm? These words jack me up. I want my life to be the storm the weather man couldn't predict. Scripture is filled with instances of Jesus saying and doing unpredictable things. How about the unpredictability of his rage at the temple? This man walks right up to the 'house of holiness' and flips tables and money jars over until the scene is complete chaos. Of all the places for God Himself to get super pissed with people, he picks the ancient version of a church?!? You mean.... Jesus was confrontational with the moral and religious leaders, yet he was inviting and warm to the so called 'bad apples' of his day? Yep. Unpredictable. 

It's a rap, I was down, when I was down I was kicked.
I got up I'm back to punch ya to the ground, ya trick,

Pause. When I was down I was kicked, I got up. LETS. GO. I'm starting to grin as I accelerate in my super neat Toyota.  Once again, just two short lines tell us the story of Christ's struggle and victory over death. It's an understatement to say that Jesus was 'kicked while down.' He was brutally tortured, experiencing the deepest loneliness in human history. I mean, they KILLED HIM. If Jesus sat down with Em before the release of this song, I think he would suggest that Marshall instead say something to the effect of 'When I was kicked I was dead, I got up.'
It's a trap, fuck my last CD that shits in my trash,
I be G****mned if another rapper gets in my ass,

The uncanny courage of Christ. Yea they killed him. Yea it was awful. But your one sorry sir if you think that will happen again. He looked death in the eye, stomped on its throat. He is King. He is absolutely unconcerned with the threat of Death; He completely did away with it, punched it to the ground. His memory of temporary defeat is in his trash.

I'm destroying your livelihood. I ain't just hurtin' your rep',
I catch a flow and get goin',
No remorse I'm showin', ain't slowin' for no one,
Knowin' there is nothin' you can do about it
Zeroin' on the target like a marksman,
The target is you.
I shut ya lane down,
Took ya spot, parked in it too,
Arsenic flow, lighter fluid, saliva what can ya do?
Go get ya crew to hype you up stand behind you like whoooo!

By now I am dancing in my car, head bobbing, my inner Marshall Mathers being unleashed as I rap in perfect sync with the lyrics. Jesus came to this earth for one reason: To bring people back into a true and real friendship with God. The religious institution at the time of his arrival actually had the opposite effect. People were burdened with 613(ish) rules to live by. If you couldn't obey them all, well quite frankly you couldn't experience God in a real way, or so they thought.

But we see quite the contrary in the stories of Jesus. The people that experience Jesus in a life changing way were the ones who had screwed up their lives quite extensively. Jesus heals the outcasts of society, has deep and real conversations with a prostitute, and frees men from the horrendous acts they have committed in the past. 

The religious leaders and ancient bible thumpers of the day knew the Good Book inside out. Kept it's rules to a tee. Yet the scripture says their hearts were far away from God, that they replaced knowing God with a bunch of phony moral living. These religious leaders were the targets Jesus 'zeroed in on'. He openly and rather loudly, defied their teachings of 'squeaky clean appearance.' He turned the table on their idea of holiness. Its safe to say Jesus shut down the religious leaders 'lane' , taking their spots and parking in them too. The extravagant freedom of Jesus drew more followers; the religious leaders lost followers. Christ didn't just hurt these guys reputation, he destroyed their livelihood. Jesus tookerrr JIRBSSSS!!! It's why they eventually murder him. What could they do, but get their crew to hype 'em up, stand behind 'em like whoooo? 

That boy's hot enough to melt Hell, burn Satan too:
Fry his ass, and put his ashes back together with glue,

Hot enough, indeed. These lines portray a mighty power over the most evil creature to ever exist. The line makes a complete joke out of death and Satan; so did my Best Friend. 
See you can hate 'em, he don't blame you frankly he would too,

One of my favorite things about my Best Friend is he expects to be hated. He knows the outrageous way he lives his life, will result in many people despising him.  He doesn't blame them. He confronts his haters with a stern gaze and fiery presence, much like the lyric. 

This game could ill-afford to lose him, how bout you?

After seeing the boldness and strength of this man, I know in my heart I can't afford to lose him, can't afford to miss out on his friendship. 

How bout you?

Gone, Gone, Gone

I love music. Good music without fail can lift my mood in an instant. There is one song in particular of late that I have really been jamming to. ‘Gone, Gone, Gone’ by Philip Phillips. Now at first I loved this song simply because I am getting married in 100 some odd days, and the lyrics reflect the kind of relentless strength and love that I wish to give to Samantha all the days of my life. But then, in His ever humorous and quirky personality, Jesus whispered very plainly, ‘I wrote that one’.  Right. Good one Jesus.  It only takes me .36 seconds to successfully Google and find out the songwriters of ‘Gone, Gone, Gone.’ Jesus Christ didn’t show up on my results page.

Now to be perfectly honest, a majority of the time, if the beat or instrumentals to a song are good I will crank it. I like good lyrics but don’t religiously listen for each and every line like some people do. It wasn’t until I checked out the first few lines of ‘Gone, Gone, Gone’ that I actually figured out what Jesus was trying to tell me.

                When life leaves you high and dry

                I’ll be at your door tonight

                If you need help, if you need help.

                I’ll shut down the city lights, I’ll lie, cheat, I’ll beg and bribe to

                Make you well, to make you well. 

                Your hope dangling by a string, I'll share in your suffering,

                To make you well, to make you well. 

DUH.  It’s no wonder why so many of you reading this absolutely love this song. In just a few short verses you have the personal promise of Christ’s fierce devotion to rescuing you. He will do anything to make you well.  The lyrics stir up something deep and real in your soul. Something you absolutely crave. Something your heart longs to know is true. That there is Someone willing to love you no matter what, share in your suffering, and love you forever.  That there is such a scandalous love not only to believe in, but also to partake in.

… I’m not moving on, I’ll love you long after you’re gone

For you, For you

You would never sleep alone, I love you long after you’re gone.

....Like a drum, my heart never stops beating for you, for you. 

This is the kind of love in Christ. Christ’s love is downright scandalous.  You will never be alone, you will always be loved. No matter what.

Jesus finished our exchange that day with a thought provoking question that has transformed the way I love Him. I hope it would do the same for you.   ‘What if I am the writer of every love song ever written?’

What if His heart really never stops beating for you? 

What if....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8D4v0xsux8  <<< Check it out for yourself!

What if you did not recognize your best friend?

That’s one hell of a question. What if I told you, that you interact with your best friend on a daily basis, yet did not know him? Is that even possible? What if I told you that each day you laugh with and enjoy a certain part of this best friend’s personality, yet still could not recognize him?

You would have to be legally insane, just plain dumb, or an odd combination of both to pull this scenario off.  Unfortunately we somehow trudge through our lives not recognizing our best friend.

The truth is, every good thing you have ever loved—every memory, every movie, every song, every book, every sight, every sound, every taste, and most importantly every person--- has been sent quite personally to your heart from God Himself. He longs for you to know and understand this. These things you love so dearly, are words to the language in which He speaks to us most often. Both the understanding, and experiencing of this language is our deepest need. Period. 

“People see God everyday; They just don’t recognize Him” – Pearl Bailey

In other words, you hang out with Jesus all the time, you just don’t know it.

That time you laughed till you cried with a friend. That person who you can call at 2 am when your world is falling apart. The breathtaking sunset on summer vacation you won’t ever forget. Your favorite songs.  The unforgettable experience of being a part of that special team. Your favorite person to drink a Budweiser with.  The movies that move you to tears; the ones that stir your heart. That time you won the state championship, or the first time you dunked a basketball.  Your favorite teachers and coaches. The inside jokes with your siblings. The time Donald Harvey pitched the ball to Andy Mundwiller to take the lead late against Pitt State (a personal fave). Your significant other. All the greatest times with your favorite pals. These great things reflect a piece of your Best Friends personality. Every great moment in your lifetime has been time spent with your Best Friend. You just haven’t recognized him….yet.

Due to heartless religion we have accepted the idea that God only speaks to his people either at church or when they read the bible. People will tell you this concept is an essential key for the Christian faith. Jesus will tell you it’s a load of religious bullshit (he would at the very least say bullcrap, bullpoop, or maybe even bull feces).  Man made concepts enforced by self appointed posers. To insist that this is the only way He would choose to pursue His friends is arrogant. “For heaven’s sake—there are 168 hrs in your week. Are you really going to say that the one or two you spend in church are more important to God than the other 166?” (Beautiful Outlaw)

Let me introduce you to this Jesus dude. The real one. Not some religious weirdo who parts his hair in the middle, but the most extravagant man to ever live. Not the guy who walked around telling stories with an innocently weak glow to his face, but the owner of the largest personality in human history.  In my following posts I will share with you the good things in my life that I absolutely love. Movies, songs, books, memories, and most importantly, people. Hopefully they help you interpret the numerous messages sent to you directly from this Fiercely Devoted Friend I like to call Jesus. Hopefully, you start recognizing your Best Friend.